Individuals generally, develop sore muscles and general aches and pains during the course of daily events. If muscles located in the back, shoulders, legs, feet or other areas become extremely tired, the circulation of the blood becomes sluggish, causing the compression of various nerves near the muscles. Recovery from fatigue of various muscles is delayed by the compressed nerves. Therefore, stimulation of the sore, aching, or tired muscles, which increases blood flow in the various muscles, hastens recovery from these general muscle maladies.
In folk medicine, simple mechanical objects without moving parts and of various designs were created for kneading troubled muscles in an attempt to increase blood flow. In Asian medicine, massage and acupuncture are used to stimulate an acupoint at which vital nerves are concentrated. More recently, doctors, personal trainers, and other experts in the field apply heat or cold to muscles in an attempt to alleviate the general muscle maladies. Also, more recently, many types of electronic massage devices have been created for promoting circulation of blood in the various troubled muscles.
There are several different techniques to massage troubled muscles and each technique provides different relief to the muscles. Vibratory massage applies a percussive force to the muscles that loosens tight muscles and encourages blood flow. Heat similarly loosens tight muscles and encourages blood flow, although more slowly than vibratory massage. The benefit of massage through heat over vibratory massage is that massage through heat is gentler on sore muscles. Cold massage can reduce swelling and inflammation in muscles and is often used to treat microtraumas in tendons, joints and bones. Each of these massage techniques, in their own ways, are useful in relieving troubled muscles.
The many types of electronic massage devices currently on the market have various characteristics. Some devices provide vibratory massage. Some devices provide heat massage. A couple of devices provide cold massage. Ideally, a massage device would be capable of relieving muscle aches through all three of these massage techniques.
Electronic massage devices that provide massage through heat, usually consume significant amounts of power. Electrically warming a massage head on the massage device is normally achieved with a resistive heating element, which requires a significant current to be warmed and to stay warm. Similarly, most cooling devices draw significant power. Ideally, a massage device would be capable of either heat or cold massage without consuming significant amounts of power.
Thus, a heretofore-unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.